Movie Business and the Coming of Sound - Essay Example

Full Movie Business, Artists and the Coming of Sound Douglas Fairbanks, as many actors are, was handsome and had a certain appeal that made viewers love him. Aside from his good looks, he was also a good actor and was successful in his profession. One of the things that probably affected his success is the fact that he rose to prominence just after the war when people were trying to forget the harsh difficulties they experienced. The theme of his films was often romantic and heroic and I think people loved it because it speaks to their emotions.

When Fairbanks experimented on the film “Zorro” where he had to dress from the fair and modern man he used to portray to a masked hero who stalked and destroyed the bad guys at night, his fears on how people would accept him were eradicated when it turned out that the people loved him more in this film. From the comments in the clip, I think Fairbanks portrays in real life the attributes of the characters he played so that it was quite a natural thing for him. For instance, his character, Zorro, seemed playful, creating humor and real entertainment in the film.

As a person, I think he was a humorous guy and was not just romantic and heroic. At one point, he masqueraded himself to be his double who was to do the same stunts for him. I think that was funny and it showed Fairbanks to be playful like a little kid, as one of the commenters said. 2. Mary Pickford in the publicity photo is a sweet young woman who every viewer will just love. She is the epitome of a Hollywood sweetheart so she often plays the love interest of male protagonists. She looks young, innocent, and beautiful therefore she became quite the princess in her movies.

Her characteristics made her vulnerable to the threats of ugly, evil, and deceptive villains so she needed a prince in shining armor to save and protect her. Her beauty, gentleness, endearment, and goodness made her the American sweetheart, a status comparable to how beautiful princesses in fairytales or in real life are accepted. 3. Rudolph Valentino smoking a cigarette shows the stereotype of the ‘man’ who is cool and successful. The movie industry as well as cigarette advertisements often portrayed that smoking added to the actors’ manliness.

Fathers are often seen smoking when they are trying to think alone and solve problems at work or at home. This makes them look cool and capable in contrast to the approach of females, worrying about the problems. The other picture of Valentino shows the stereotype of a romantic actor. He is handsome, well-groomed, and a romantic lover whose passions are focused on a beautiful woman. Holding the woman in his arms as they looked at each other in the eyes, Valentino is not just shown as a passionate lover but as a hero as well who is able to protect his beloved. 4. Greta Garbo is the stereotype of women in the film industry.

She is portrayed as an attractive woman who is not just the love interest of the males in the movie but also is a sexual character. The photo that shows her lying down with eyes wide open as her lover kisses her; is characteristic of how women are perceived, as sexual objects. She seemed to look like she had no choice but to please her lover. The second photo shows the woman as an emotional person. She looks sad or even hurt and is being wooed by her lover. The two photos imply intimacy thus, it could be said that the woman in the movie is used to show the roles of women in the male world- they are needed to satisfy their ego and sexual needs. 5. Women filmmakers disappeared after the introduction of sync sounds because of the many changes that made filmmaking difficult for them.

For instance, since the sync sound shooting demanded larger cameras, they were difficult to set up and move. In other words, the job demanded much muscle from women which could be too much. Although they could have hired men to do the job, they were not able to express their aesthetic talents anymore. In addition, as mentioned in the clip, more money was needed to equip the studios and theaters which of course would make it more expensive for women filmmakers to hire extra help. Also, the process itself already took away the visual aesthetic developed in the ’20s that limited the filmmakers’ expression of their art and that made women filmmakers lose taste in what they were doing.

I think they were more into expressing themselves then than earning money.